Here's my current hot take on Bortles:
 
Statistically, Blake Bortles rookie season was one of the worst since 2000 (source: https://www.numberfire.com/nfl/news/4055...back-class).
 
He was sacked 55 times, which is 7th most in NFL history since 2000. 
 
Using the PFR player index tool, I set the following search criteria: from 1970 to 2014, search for QB's in rookie season, requiring Pass Attempts >= 200 and Adj Net Yds/Pass Att <= 4.0.
 
Here is the result: http://pfref.com/tiny/2Ofqj
 
Among 38 eligible QB's, only 6 went on to have good careers. If I only look back from 2000, there are 14 eligible QB's and the only good one is Matthew Stafford. I'd argue that the jury is still out on Stafford.
 
Bortles' passes are batted down at the line too often. I believe this is caused by his long windup, but may also be a case of him staring down receivers.
 
His footwork is a mess and it's most obvious on his throws outside the hashes to the left side of the field. He's missed throws that every QB should be able to make because of his poor footwork.
 
Reason for optimism: The Jaguars offense was essentially a daycare center this season, with up to 8 rookies starting / receiving significant playing time. At one point, there were 3 rookie WR's, a 2nd year LT, a rookie C, a rookie G, a 3rd year RT, a rookie TE, a rookie QB, and a 2nd year RB in the starting lineup. Most successful rookie QB's walk into good situations, so the odds were against Bortles. 
 
The Jaguars were also very hesitant to play Bortles this season because they knew he would not be successful. He's a project QB that needed a year to work on his fundamentals, but of course, Chad Henne sucked so bad that there was no other option. 
 
If Bortles is able to clean up his footwork, improve his arm mechanics and speed up his decision making, he'll have a shot to be a good QB. He has the size / athleticism, and all indications are that he has a strong work ethic. 
 
Conclusion: Bortles had a bad rookie season and needs serious work in the offseason to improve. The offense around him needs to get much better, as well. I feel like the odds are stacked against him, unfortunately. If he can become good QB despite his situation, I'll be very impressed.

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